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The Detroit Grand Prix could return, officials say. Shown is the start of the 2007 race. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

The Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle will be off the IndyCar Series schedule for the second consecutive year in 2010, but the race's infrastructure remains in place to reactivate the event, according to DGP chairman Bud Denker. The right economic climate, however, is critical.

“We've got all these assets that we bought--from the barrier walls to the fencing to the infrastructure, it's all sitting in our downtown warehouse, and there's depreciation,” Denker told AutoWeek. “We invested more than $6 million on Belle Isle, and that investment is still there. Roads, the drainage, the lighting, the landscaping, the casino, the fountain. It was a total retrofit. We contributed to have the event there for years and years.”

The Grand Prix, run under Roger Penske's leadership in 2007 and 2008, reportedly boosted the local economy to the tune of $50 million. Denker said Penske's team will know when to go back to its partners for sponsorship dollars because “we know their business” as partners in the automotive industry.